OpenMedReady framework to use fingerprint biometrics in remote patient monitoring

A collaborative effort by Arm, ForgeRock, Phillips, Qualcomm Life, and startups Sparsa and US TrustedCare to enable trustworthy data sourcing and consented patient-information sharing with enhanced data from medical devices has been announced at HLTH — The Future of Health Conference, under the name “OpenMedReady.”

The companies have built a framework for use with existing standards for remote clinical care, to address patient identity, device identity, data integrity, patient privacy, and consent. Patient identity will be authenticated with fingerprint biometrics leveraging technology available in many smartphones, according to the announcement. The framework is designed for ease of implementation by telecare service providers and medical device companies.

“At a time when research shows 87 percent of patients are unwilling to comprehensively divulge all medical information due to privacy and security issues, it’s critical to establish a proper trust relationship among patients, care providers, telecare devices, and digital services,” said Eve Maler, vice president of innovation and emerging technology, ForgeRock. “The two critical pieces in doing this are authenticated identity and consent management. The OpenMedReady framework promises a method for doing this in a way that lets valuable ecosystems grow.”

The companies say OpenMedReady compliments the connectivity standards and health data exchange frameworks that have been the focus of most remote patient monitoring initiatives, adding assurances of the data’s authenticity and integrity.

“Historically, clinicians have been reluctant to use remote patient data for clinical decision making due in part to the concerns regarding identity management, consent and data integrity,” noted James Mault, MD, FACS, senior vice president and chief medical officer at Qualcomm Life. “OpenMedReady combines connected sensors with modern smartphone capabilities to provide doctors a cryptographic log of a patient’s identity, their device’s identity, and their consent, giving care teams the confidence they need to treat patients based on data acquired remotely.”

Remote patient care was identified as one of the key service areas identified by Credence Research as driving an expected 22.9 percent CAGR in the global healthcare biometrics market.